Transforming foster care in the US through the power of lived experience

Problem

Each year, more than 600,000 young people spend time in foster care in the US, resulting in damaging outcomes. Children who’ve been placed in foster care are almost twice as likely as war veterans to suffer from PTSD and, later in life, are more likely to experience homelessness or incarceration. The majority of these children aren’t in care because of abuse, they’re removed from their families because of “neglect,” a condition that often reflects the basic conditions of poverty, such as food shortages or housing insecurity. By providing simple supportive measures to families, and changing ineffective regulations, many of these placements could be avoided. But because of a highly disconnected, siloed system and insufficient data, leaders can’t see opportunities for improvement that are often right in front of them.  

Big Idea

Think of Us is working to break the cycle of incremental and ineffective reform in child welfare, by surfacing the perspectives of those impacted by it — the voice missing from previous designs and reform movements. They actively invite foster youth and their families to share their experiences, then elevate key data and insights, using the principles of human-centered design to create effective, scalable solutions. Over the next five years, their team will work hand-in-hand with leaders across the nation to re-engineer the child welfare system from one that inflicts harm on children to one where all families have the conditions necessary to thrive. Through their efforts, they will positively impact the lives of 300,000 children and their families — and move the needle on this hard-to-tilt systeThink of Us is working to break the cycle of incremental and ineffective reform in child welfare, by surfacing the perspectives of those impacted by it — the voice missing from previous designs and reform movements. They actively invite foster youth and their families to share their experiences, then elevate key data and insights, using the principles of human-centered design to create effective, scalable solutions. Over the next five years, their team will work hand-in-hand with leaders across the nation to re-engineer the child welfare system from one that inflicts harm on children to one where all families have the conditions necessary to thrive. Through their efforts, they will positively impact the lives of 300,000 children and their families — and move the needle on this hard-to-tilt system.

Plan

Think of Us is building a Lived Experience Engine, which currently aggregates perspectives from more than 40,000 impacted individuals — the largest and most comprehensive resource of its kind. With its data, Think of Us has identified three promising opportunities to improve the child welfare system. First is prevention — elevating programs that ensure youth and families have the social supports, such as housing, medical care or food assistance, so children are safe to remain with their parents. In cases when children do need to be removed due to abuse, drug use or willful neglect, a second opportunity is increasing “kinship placement” with extended family or other already-trusted adults, as it keeps children connected to their families, neighborhoods, schools and culture. And the third opportunity is to improve support for the 20,000 children who “age out” of the system every year, giving them access to a suite of services that replicate what a family might provide. By pushing these three levers, Think of Us will change individual lives — and the larger system.

Why will it Succeed?

Founded in 2015, Think of Us has built a strong track record of elevating lived experience. They work in partnership with the key actors across the child welfare ecosystem, providing data and insights, co-creating and scaling solutions based on them, and translating these ideas into wider policy recommendations and funding flows. They have built trust with children and families — the true “lived experts” — and have established themselves as a convener in the field, bringing together national philanthropies, researchers and policymakers, as well as state and local administrations, private providers and infrastructure experts. With their ability to work across the sector, Think of Us is well-positioned to lead change from within.

‍